Kibbles & Bytes Blog

  • Terminal Tidbits

    When dealing with a terminal input when trying to accomplish anything, you can use a plethora of terminal commands. But most of the time you will only use the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the full potential of the command. Lucky for Unix based file systems, like the one we use everyday when you fire up your Mac, have a built-in manual for every command and the syntax of how it is used.

    Example:
    For this example we will use the man command on the ifconfig command

    man ifconfig

    and your result will look something like this-


    IFCONFIG BSD System Manager’s Manual IFCONFIG

    NAME

    ifconfig — configure network interface parameters

    SYNOPSIS

    ifconfig [-L] [-m] [-r] interface [create] [address_family] [address

    [dest_address]] [parameters]

    ifconfig interface destroy

    ifconfig -a [-L] [-d] [-m] [-r] [-u] [-v] [address_family]

    ifconfig -l [-d] [-u] [address_family]

    ifconfig [-L] [-d] [-m] [-r] [-u] [-v] [-C]

    ifconfig interface vlan vlan-tag vlandev iface

    ifconfig interface -vlandev iface

    ifconfig interface bonddev iface

    ifconfig interface -bonddev iface

    ifconfig interface bondmode lacp | static

    DESCRIPTION

    The ifconfig utility is used to assign an address to a network interface

    and/or configure network interface parameters.

    Now as you can see from the results, the man command gives helpful info and descriptions for any command in the Unix library. It isn’t a lot, but it’s a good place to start!

  • Hello, Tech Tails Readers!

    How about that steady sunshine over the weekend? It was certainly a great few days for some outdoor adventuring and leisurely lounging in the elements. With the snow near my house officially gone for the season (knocking on wood, of course), I was able to get out and do some exploring along the river with some friends. Now, it’s been said before, but I feel compelled to reiterate- Apple is killing it with its mobile phone camera capabilities. One of my amigos recently purchased the iPhone X and was excited to test-drive the camera in a picturesque, environmental setting. And it doesn’t disappoint. Beyond the bokeh effect and Portrait mode, I was blown away by the sheer number of vibrant colors the camera was able to capture. Apple really outdid themselves with the TrueDepth camera system all around. I cannot wait to see what they roll out with next.

    And speaking of…

    The countdown to the WWDC begins! Beginning June 4th and wrapping on June 8th, the World Wide Developers Conference is sure to be a summer highlight for us Mac folk. This time of year is always interesting with the influx of juicy rumors and “leaks” regarding big reveals from Apple at this yearly event. My favorite moments of last years event were the macOS High Sierra reveal and iMac Pro unveiling, and I’m getting antsy at the prospect of even bigger and better things to come out over the course of the next year. We here in service and repair have been speculating about the title of the next macOS release and taking bets on if Apple is going to continue with the California mountain-range scheme or perhaps drop something totally new and unexpected. Me, personally, I would like see the Newton make a comeback. They could call it iNewt or something clever. Let’s talk, Tim. I got a million of these.

    Keep on keepin’ on, Tech Tails readers,
    Connor “the Newton was just too ahead of its time” McGinnis
    connormcginnis@smalldog.com

  • We are driving two vehicles back to Vermont this year since Grace has traded her motorcycle in for a Jeep. Jezebel and I will ride in the Volt and meet up with Grace and Max each night. We never seem to have enough time to do much other than drive fast on I-95. I’d like to meander a bit but we have a schedule, appointments, work, etc. so it looks like we’ll be riding the big road for three days.

    I have checked my Arlo cameras at my house and I can confirm that the snow is completely gone, the grass is getting green and the daffodils are coming up so it is clearly time to migrate!

    Emily will be taking care of you next week for Kibbles as we conclude our trip north.

    Thank you so much for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,

    Don & Emily

  • Happy Anniversary

    This week the iMac turned 20 years old! It was back on May 6, 1998, that Steve Jobs first introduced us to the…

  • I have to change some cables on my motorcycle. I guess they don’t much like the salty air down here. I will do that and clean it up for the summer nap. I think I have to eat a lot of seafood over the next couple of weeks since the super fresh seafood here in Key West has spoiled my taste for seafood in land-locked Vermont. Then again, I will have to journey over to nearby Maine once I get back!

    We will be working on our migration plan and getting this house ready for renters. I have a lot of batteries to change in locks and lights and a lot of stuff to put away. Grace and I are beginning to look forward to the trek North.

    Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes team,

    Don & Emily

  • How Much Do You Use Your iPhone?

    Some of you might remember my article about parental controls on the iPhone and younger users. Kids are using phones younger and younger,…

  • Apple Demolishes the Street

    Tim Cook has said time and again that analysts should not look at “supply chain” reports to predict how Apple is doing. Over the past few weeks there were quite a few of those same analysts that didn’t listen, claiming that Apple’s sales were slow, that the iPhone X was not a success, that guidance for the next quarter was based upon supply chain checks.

    Ooops, wrong again! Apple stock rebounded from the erroneous reports that had some folks selling their Apple stock and it has rebounded with Apple well on its way to becoming the first trillion dollar company. Apple services business alone, which has tripled over the past 5 years, is now at around $35 billion. I remember well, when we started Small Dog Electronics, an Apple exec boasting that Apple would soon become a $5 billion company.

    Think about services revenue for a minute at $35 billion. FaceBook has revenues of about $40 billion, Netflix had revenues of $12 billion and database giant SAP had revenues of $28 billion. These companies have market caps of between $150 and $500 billion so we can assume that if Apple wanted to just spin off their services business (who spins off a double digit growth sector?) it would be about a $200 billion company. Simply amazing.

    In the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $61.1 billion and a net profit of $13.8 billion or $2.37 per share. This compares pretty darn well with last year’s $52.9 billion in revenue and $11 billion in profit. All three numbers, revenue, net profit and profit per share, were records for the 2nd quarter for the company.

    Apple is re-patriating a lot of its overseas cash and their board of directors cranked up the dividend by $0.10 per share to $0.73 per share. Apple is one of the largest dividend payers in the world. They also announced a new $100 billion share re-purchase program so they can buy their own stock back the next time the analysts try to beat down the stock.

    Apple sold 52.2 million iPhones this past quarter, compared to 50.8 million in the same quarter last year. iPad sales were up, too, at 9.1 million units. Mac sales slid a bit from 4.2 to 4.1 million units. Tim Cook said:

    “We’re thrilled to report our best March quarter ever, with strong revenue growth in iPhone, Services and Wearables,” said Apple’s CEO. “Customers chose iPhone X more than any other iPhone each week in the March quarter, just as they did following its launch in the December quarter. We also grew revenue in all of our geographic segments, with over 20% growth in greater China and Japan.”

    Tim also mentioned that Apple’s wearable business, which includes Apple Watch, AirPods and Beats, was up almost 50 percent and was now the size of a “Fortune 300” company.

    Apple remains “the iPhone company” with 62% of its revenue coming from iPhone, but the growth in the services and wearables sectors, as well as continued leadership in the tablet market, should be evidence that Apple is not a one-horse show!

    Congratulations to everyone at Apple for an amazingly successful quarter and another chapter in the greatest ongoing American business story ever told.